Product description

This book brings together fourteen of the most influential articles on the English Civil War, which have appeared over the last thirty years, introduced and contextualized for the reader. Peter Gaunt provides a substantial and wide-ranging introduction giving the essential background to the period and key debates within it, and helping readers to understand and interpret the following chapters.The English Civil War: The Essential Readings includes coverage of all the major debates on this key period in English and British history. It examines the different interpretations of the causes of the war, encompassing long-term origins and short-term causes in the British as well as an English context. It covers key themes surrounding the course of the civil war of 1642-46, and aspects of the impact and consequences of the civil war during the late 1640s and beyond. It discusses military and political affairs alongside social, religious and economic developments, providing a rounded picture of the period.
This book not only presents an essential source of key articles, it also provides the critical context to understanding the nature of past and continuing historical debates surrounding the major aspects of the civil war.

Author information

Peter Gaunt is Reader in History at Chester College of Higher Education. He is Chairman of the Cromwell Association and has published widely on military, political and constitutional aspects of the mid-seventeenth century. His previous books include "Oliver Cromwell" (Blackwell, 1996) and "The British Civil Wars 1637-1651" (Routledge, 1997).

Review quote

"Peter Gaunt's The English Civil War: The Essential Readings is indeed essential reading for any clear understanding of the causes and consequences of the violent birth of modernity in England. The essays he presents are carefully chosen and represent a generation of the best historical work in an area which has sparked controversy for over 300 years." Professor Victor Stater, Louisiana State University "Gaunt's volume, devoted to the civil war, brings out the complexities, cross-currents and different interpretations of that crisis ... a helpful and reliable guide to the shifting centres of interest in this field." Times Higher Education Supplement "A diverse and thought-provoking read, introduced clearly and effectively by Peter Gaunt." History "A good, structured introduction to the topic ... Gaunt's introductory essays to the book's four sections helpfully guide the unfamiliar reader through the minefield of Civil War historiography." History "An expert selection of articles dating from 1972 to 1994, with a running commentary, the whole intended to convey a clear living picture of the problems of the period and the diversity of the historiography ... a formidable task, triumphantly accomplished." Cromwelliana "Gaunt's introductions are impressively clear and concise. His grasp on the subject is never less than firm, and he successfully locates contributions within their historical and historiographical contexts, providing a valuable guide to a vast body of literature." Jason Peacey, History of Parliament Trust - Canadian Journal of History "The editor of this commendable work is Peter Gaunt, who has judiciously chosen what he considers to be the most revealing and insightful articles that have been published over the last 30 years. Both his selection of articles and authors are keenly rewarding for anyone who wishes to understand in some depth what unfolded in the British Isles during this era. Above all, Gaunt possesses the talent to summarize divergent opinions deftly." Journal of Church and State

Back cover copy

This book brings together fourteen of the most influential articles on the English Civil War, which have appeared over the last thirty years, introduced and contextualized for the reader. Peter Gaunt provides a substantial and wide-ranging introduction giving the essential background to the period and key debates within it, and helping readers to understand and interpret the following chapters. "The English Civil War: The Essential Readings" includes coverage of all the major debates on this key period in English and British history. It examines the different interpretations of the causes of the war, encompassing long-term origins and short-term causes in the British as well as an English context. It covers key themes surrounding the course of the civil war of 1642-46, and aspects of the impact and consequences of the civil war during the late 1640s and beyond. It discusses military and political affairs alongside social, religious and economic developments, providing a rounded picture of the period. This book not only presents an essential source of key articles, it also provides the critical context to understanding the nature of past and continuing historical debates surrounding the major aspects of the civil war.

Table of contents

Editor's Introduction. 1. What Was The English Revolution: John Morrill, Brian Manning and David Underdown. 2. The English Revolution and Revisionist Revolt: Mary Fulbrook. 3. The British Problem and The English Civil War: Conrad Russell. 4. Opposition to the Personal Rule of Charles I: The Diary of Robert Woodford, 1637-1641: John Fielding. 5. Why Did Charles I Call The Long Parliament?: Conrad Russell. 6. Why Did Charles I Fight The Civil War?: Conrad Russell. 7. The Defection of Sir Edward Dering, 1640-41: Derek Hirst. 8. Sir William Brereton and England's Wars of Religion: John Morrill. 9. Between Scylla and Charybdis: The Creation of Rival Administrations at the Beginning of the English Civil War: Martyn Bennett. 10. The War, the People and the Absence of the Clubmen in the Midlands, 1642-46: Simon Osborne. 11. England Turned Germany? The Aftermath of the Civil War in its European Context: Ian Roy. 12. The Levellers and Christianity: J. Colin Davis. 13. Charles Stuart, That Man of Blood: Patricia Crawford. 14. A Bougeois Revolution?: Christopher Hill. Index.